A strategic plan that could clear the way for Indiana to add tolls to its interstate highways, including inside the I-465 loop in Indianapolis, is being developed by a state contractor.

The state just signed a $9.6 million contract with HNTB Indiana Inc. to study the impact of tolling and provide project planning if the state chooses to move forward with tolling

The administration of Gov. Eric Holcomb is required to study tolling under the road-funding plan lawmakers passed in 2017 but hasn't officially decided to impose the fees on motorists.

Under the law, Holcomb also is permitted to draft a strategic plan "if the governor determines that tolling is the best means of achieving major interstate system improvements in Indiana."

Despite the move to craft a strategic plan, the governor hasn't made a decision regarding tolling, said spokeswoman Stephanie Wilson.

"He wanted more information to make an informed decision and will use the strategic plan due Dec. 1 as a basis for that," Wilson said. "If after reviewing the plan the governor determines that tolling is not the best option, the state won’t move forward with the remainder of the contract."

The contract with HNTB lays out specific requirements for the consultant if the state chooses to add tolling. For example, HNTB would be required to assist with project start-up for tolls in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Area, which includes Indianapolis and portions of nearly all of the bordering counties.

Indiana Department of Transportation officials said that doesn't necessarily mean the metropolitan area will be tolled if the state moves forward. However, it's the only region of the state HNTB would be asked to help with the project startup under the contract.

INDOT officials said that region could serve as a blueprint for other metropolitan areas, and is an easy area to draft an environmental plan for because so many of the state's interstates pass through the iregion.

But it also suggests it could be among the first areas tolled in the state.

Previously, Holcomb has said I-465 and other loops surrounding major cities would not be tolled, but that exception doesn't exclude all other interstates in the metro area. The plan could allow tolling on I-65 and I-70 within the I-465 loop.

Scott Manning, an INDOT spokesperson, said the agency has only been told to not add tolls to I-465, and he can't say how likely it is that interstates inside the loop would be tolled.

“That’s not really something I could assign a value on," Manning said. "It would be premature still to try to handicap the odds of any one route being tolled verses another."

Wilson did not address whether Holcomb was OK with adding tolls to interstates within the loop.

Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, proposed a bill during the 2018 legislative session that would have prohibited tolling within 15 miles of the center of Indianapolis. However, Senate Homeland Security and Transportation Committee Chairman Sen. Michael Crider, R-Greenfield, didn't call the bill for a vote because most lawmakers said it wouldn't help prevent tolling in their own districts.

"You can never say never," Crider said. "I don’t know what the future brings, but I know that it is wise for INDOT to be considering all kinds of things, tolling being one of those."

Although Delph's main concern was the I-465 loop, he still disagrees with the decision to still consider tolling I-65 and I-70 within the I-465 loop..

"I don’t support any tolling within the loop of Indianapolis," Delph said. " I think that will have negative economic consequences to our city."

In HNTB's initial proposal, it said INDOT could begin collecting tolls as early as 2021.